Worlds in Conflict
by M.A. Federico
Summary: After the murder of the Seventeenth Angel, EVA models 01 and 02 went missing. Thus, Human Instrumentality was impossible. To comepnsate, SEELE conquered the world in the name of justice, and peace. But there are those who will not surrender to such a conc
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One – Falling from the heavens into despair / From sacrilege a life is given anew**

Cold.

Freezing pain.

Winds that tear the skin from your flesh.

Is this your heaven, Sjinji Ikari? You're solitude? Your resting place?

"YES!"

Do you wish to die here?

"Yes! I…I mean no! No!"

But the pain, it is great. Why bear it?

No response, Third Child?

Look Third Child, a playground. A swing sways lazily in the breeze. Children hop continuously on a sea saw. Old men talk of better days. New mothers gab eagerly amongst each other.

Then it is all consumed in a fiery wrath.

* * *

Four capsules orbited around the lunar planet. Two of them were barely large enough to hold a human, while the others were large enough to hold a colossal weapon. The weapon they held were the EVAs. 

For many months the four capsules had floated as useless objects, caught in the low gravitational pull of the Moon. The advanced engines and calculating systems stored on the capsules ensured they would not wander into infinite space.

If there was any intelligent life outside of Earth, that inhabited the stars or deep space, they would have been no doubt caught in awe by these attractions. And there would be little doubt that these supposed life forms would have been caught off guard when the capsules ceased to orbit the moon. Small engines activated themselves, to point them towards their target.

They were pointed for Earth.

Portions of the capsules melted away to reveal large engines. The newly awakened machines roared so loudly a beast would have been caught off guard. A blue hue surrounded the engines, preparing themselves for their last voyage, and they sped off towards the Earth.

* * *

There is only the realm of darkness in Asuka's mind. The illusion of the hanging doll slowly appears, her malicious smile that of death. 

The head separates from the doll. Its form collapses on the ground. Asuka is crying, her knees pulled up to her chest. She doesn't want to see anyone or anything. She would rather be stranded alone in her depression than be forced to actually converse with a soul.

But there were those who would not be satisfied with such a conclusion.

The Third Child shivered horribly as the voice instructed him a second time: Look again Third Child; a woman. She is beautiful and cared for you very much. She says something to you, to run away.

Then there is more bloodshed. She falls, clutching a wound. She mutters something intelligible before you are wisped away.

All of a sudden, Shinji is returned to the play ground. It had been restored. Nothing has changed. The children still play. The old men still talk. The mothers still gab.

There never was an explosion.

* * *

In the Saint Almarea base, Lady Hamae twirled her hair around her finger, her delicate features hidden behind a white Victorian mask. She wore the uniform of the Earth's ruler, SEELE. After the Seventeenth, and final, Angel was murdered, the EVAs and their pilots went missing. So, SEELE conquered the world in the name of justice, and peace. After all, if Humanity could not reach the status of God, they could at least be ruled by those who nearly reached that state. 

The Lady saw an interesting figure on the screen. Four unidentified objects were heading for the Earth, at a very high speed. At the rate they were going, they would enter the atmosphere within a half hour.

She curled her lips seductively behind her mask. They were here.

* * *

In the darkness of Asuka's mind, a child approached the pitiful soul. 'Do you want to live?' 

"No! I don't want to live! I wanted to die, but they found me! Now I don't know where I am, or who I even am anymore! Am I dead? Alive?"

'Do you want to live?'

"No."

'Do you want to die?'

She didn't hesitate for a moment. "No."

'You want everything and nothing. This is impossible. No one can have everything and nothing. Now, which of these do you want?'

"I want nothing! I don't need anyone to survive."

'Why is that?'

"Because! I am Asuka Soryu!"

* * *

Look once more Shinji Ikari: a man in a white suit. His skin glows as if he was God. His hair is snow white, but his face does not look a year over twenty. His smile gives peace. His hands are crossed in a peaceful position. He is waiting for someone. He turns towards you and smiles. He moves over to the other side of the bench, to make room for you. Sit, Third Child. 

"Is this heaven?" Shinji didn't have an idea as to why he decided to ask that question. He didn't believe in God, so why would he believe in a Heaven?

The man smiles.

'No'.

"Where am I then?"

'Here'.

"Where is here?"

'Here is there_'_.

"Damnit, stop making things up!"

'Heaven is what you make of it'.

"Who are you?"

'I am I, me is me. I am many things, because single things eventually become one. I am the person who is simply here to guide.'

"Rei?"

The spirit child sighed in frustration. 'That is why you are here. That is why you are lost. That is why 02 refused to let you pilot it.'

"I am strong! I don't need anyone."

'You apparently need the EVA.'

"I'm useless without it!"

'It is merely a tool. A tool does not control the wielder.'

"Just shut up and let me die!"

'Why?'

"Because…if I do, I won't have to suffer. Because others won't make me suffer."

'Who caused you suffering?'

"Everyone…"

'Or did you cause it to yourself?'

"Shut up…shut up!"

* * *

"Soldier," the elegant lady said in her plain but tranquil voice. One of NERV's guards turned to her and saluted, just as much out of lust for her voice as much as respect for her command. "Are there any soldiers patrolling the area?" 

"Yes ma'am. Colonel Kalem is on his way back from Earth from his inspection of the Liberi Fatalis as we speak."

"Ah, good. Are there Full Metals on aboard?"

"There should be, knowing the Colonel. He is always ready for combat."

"Inform him of the objects coming his way. Have him destroy them at once."

The soldier saluted his superior. "Yes ma'am!" He turned to face the intercom, ordering a fellow soldier to find the Colonel's frequency.

Lady Hamae knew that the intruders would not be destroyed so easily, despite the Colonel's skill and honor. They would be wounded, certainly, but beasts of that power could never be destroyed that easily.

She twirled her elegant hair some more. They must strike fast, and corner the beast before it has the chance to strike back.

* * *

The pilot flicked the switch to off. He turned to his Colonel, Marcus Kalem. With his long brown hair and almost divine features, the soldier appeared as if he was taken right from the works of Tolkien. But looks alone does not redeem respect, and indeed the Colonel's command and love for his fellow soldiers had earned him the respect of all who had served under him. 

"What should we do Colonel?"

"Prepare two of the Sariels," the warrior said rather emotionless, as if it was plain as day, "the Lady did give us orders to eliminate this threat, and we must comply."

* * *

The child approached the weak German. 'If you opened your mind to it, the EVA would let you pilot it." 

"I tried!"

'That was when there were Angels.'

"Then I have no use. I'm worthless!"

'Others don't think so.'

"Who? Tell me!"

'Shinji.'

"Shinji?"

* * *

'No. I am not Rei. She has not left her final mortal shell yet'. 

"Who are you?"

'Someone you would call an angel'.

Shinji was shocked at the revelation. "A…angel!"

'Not the ones that you were trained to kill. I am one to guide you'.

"What's your name?"

The man smiled. 'I need no name. Call me what you wish'.

"Why am I here?"

He shrugged. 'Because you want to be'.

"I just want to die."

'Do you now? Are you sure'?

The answer seemed obvious. "Yes!"

'I thought you decided to stop hating yourself'.

He dipped his head low. "I thought I could. But now, I just want to rot."

'Why? There is still a life for you to claim'.

"What life?"

'A life to fight for. A woman to fight for'.

"Asuka?"

'Perhaps'.

* * *

The NERV pilot turned to Kalem. "What should we do Colonel?" 

"Prepare the two Sariels," the warrior said rather emotionless, as if it was plain as day, "the Lady did give us orders to eliminate this threat, and we must comply."

"But Sir, shouldn't you be taking at least two guards with you, as per protocol?"

"I am. I am taking a Ramniel…"

"But Sir, that's a land based Full Metal!"

He rose up, and two of his fellow pilots did so likewise. "I always prefer a challenge." With that, they left for the hangar.

Of the fourteen Full Metals that were stored in the transport, only four were in the hangar, three of them the massive, lizard like Sariel models. Sporting an almost reptilian tale, and an armored head that was too similar to that of a dragon of ancient myth, the Sariels were weapons of the sky. The usually navy blue colored weapons were the most dangerous thing to ground troops, with their ability to perform hit and run tactics with amazing ease.

The Sariels could not hold their own in combat, however. They would be decimated under the shower of bullets. Never to be weakened by any sort of disadvantage in their army, NERV and SEELE created the Ramniels. Dark green in color, the Ramniel were eerily similar to the EVA 00 in that it had a single, round eye. It was bulkier than its ancestor, however, but that was its purpose: to act like a tank for the Sariels so that their airborne cousins could do all the damage. Of course, the Ramniels were equipped with the latest in armed technology, but its bulky weight wouldn't allow it the maneuverability of other Full Metals, even with a small jet pack.

Cranes lifted two Sariels and the single Ramniel to the ground, the mechanized beasts bending over to let the pilots get into its chest, and the cockpit respectively. The weapons beamed on with pride. Despite the fact that these Full Metals were not living weapons like their ancestors, the fact that they looked alive gave a sense of superstitious fear to those not knowledgeable of the technology that fueled the weapon. One of the pilots driving the transport opened the hatch. The Sariels went out first, intent on protecting their beloved Colonel.

* * *

'There is hope yet for you'. 

"I did something horrible to her. She could never forgive me."

'She already would'.

* * *

Off in the distance, the soldiers could see the approaching invaders. The fire of the atmosphere was already heating them. As much as he knew it would not occur, Kalem wished that the capsules would be obliterated. His senses proved the stronger, as he saw that the capsules moved through the invisible wall of fire. They would not be decimated without outside assistance. 

Kalem was intent on remedying that fact.

"Move in, on my orders!" he addressed his personal guards. They nodded in agreement, and moved in ahead of their commander. Soon, the soldiers were nearly on top of the massive objects. He was about to order a barrage upon the massive capsules when he saw two smaller ones, puny in size to their Full Metals, orbiting each of their larger siblings. Deciding that those were the pilots, he ordered them to be shot.

But he realized them too late: a tube sprung out of the massive capsules, and the smaller ones slipped into them. Kalem cursed under his breath. "Open fire on those carriers at once!" he ordered, and without hesitating, the soldiers fired a horde of bullets on the carriers.

Their efforts, however, were at best ineffective and totally meaningless: the capsules increased their speed threefold. By now, a glimpse of the landmass below was somewhat in sight beyond the dense clouds.

* * *

'He is waking up soon. He is going to fight again.' 

"I don't care about stupid Shinji!"

'Why?'

"Because he beat my synch ratio! The ratio that I worked for years to earn! And he just beat it out of dumb, good for nothing luck!"

'So, you decided to hate everything, and everyone?'

"Yes!"

'But you went to visit Shinji when he was in the hospital after that encounter with the Angel.'

Asuka mumbled something illegible. 'I beg your pardon?'

"Because I cared about him! I was worried, all right!"

'Despite the fact that he was weak? A coward, even?'

"Yes!"

'Would a weakling have risked his life to save you from the magma?'

"He was probably ordered to…'

'He wasn't.'

"Then why didn't he try to save me when that Angel was screwing up my mind?"

'His EVA was not ready. He would not have been able to get to you in time.'

"He could of have thought up of something…"

'He would be dead. And if by some miracle that he did manage to save you, what would you have had done?'

"Yelled at him…called him stupid…"

'Precisely. Why do you keep pushing him away?'

"Because he's a fool! Because he can't see that he's weak! Because —"

'He is just like you.'

"Yeah…"

"Am I dead?"

'No. Merely waiting to awaken'.

* * *

"Is Asuka dead?" 

'No. She too is merely waiting to be awoken from her nightmares;.

"Are you God?"

'Would it matter if I was? I am simply here to guide. Who I am or was matters little in the long run. You still have a purpose Shinji. It is time to make use of it.'

"What do I have to do?"

'Awaken'.

* * *

The child approached the tear stricken Asuka. 'Are you ready? The world needs the EVAs and their pilots again. It is engulfed in conflict. Will you accept the task? Will you accept pain and suffering as well as happiness and joy? Or will you stay here forever, hurting yourself and so many others?' 

"…I'm ready."

'Then awaken.'

* * *

The Colonel switched his Full Metal's rifle for a missile launcher. The speed that they were descending was shaking his Suit widely, and the Ramniels never were known for their accuracy. Regardless, Kalem took his time. Precision was everything in the battlefield. 

Finally, he fired, the missile roaring towards the slower moving target. The cruiser screamed in protest, and rolled faster towards the Earth. Smoke escaped its grip. Kalem eased himself a little bit more. He took his aim on the other survivor, and was prepared to fire when he and his soldiers heard a deafening roar. He quickly turned to see that the cruiser was ripping itself apart from the _inside_. Something was escaping its hold…and it was powerful enough to rip through metal in the atmosphere.

The image of the monster was confirmed another assault later. The top half of the rolling cruiser was split apart, revealing a Full Metal the Colonel had never seen before. More monstrous than mechanical, it had massive shoulder pads that reached for the sky, and its purple armor was as much flesh as it was shining metal. Where an immobile mouth should have been was an almost demonic jaw. Stray canines overlapped the gray lips of the beast.

On its arm was printed the words EVA 01.

The beast stood up, almost using the falling cruiser as an air board. Where there should have been a jetpack was a wide circular device, with a wide wire coming out of it loosely and penetrating into its spine. The beast stared at the three NERV soldiers with its demonic eyes.

Then it leaped, its claws outreached, intent on tearing the Full Metals limb from limb. The other soldiers, more out of shock than reflexes, moved flew out of the way. The soldiers fired, but the bullets bounced off the armor. Rifles would have no effect on this monster.

"Move in!" he ordered. "Surround it. Use hand to hand weapons!"

"Will that work sir?"

"I don't know, but our guns aren't!" Seeing his point, they charged in, giant chainsaw-blades drawn. Hearing a new series of sounds, Kalem looked up. Three more Sariels saw the beast emerge and were closing in to aid the famous Colonel.

Right when the reinforcements approached the second, undisturbed cruiser, it shattered, another of the beasts awakening from its slumber. It was nearly identical to the first, minus its scarlet armor. In the same place as the first monster, the words EVA 02 were painted. Four green eyes stared back at the surprised soldiers.

It sprung at its prey, a soldier too caught in fear to avoid the assault. Claws dug into the camera-eyes, digging upwards until gears and oil flew upwards. It just as quickly penetrated the chest of the Full Metal, oil seeping into its fingers. With a deafening roar, the monster ripped the Suit in two, explosions thundering around its hands. Oil spread all over the monstrosity.

"My god…" the horrified Kalem muttered. He turned his Ramniel towards the other enemy, but saw that instead it was right on top of him. Or nearly at the least. The Ramniel raised its massive shield, which endured the series of assaults the purple monster gave him. He swung his shield arm, and the monster fell down. Seeing the cable, he reached for a blade. He struck at the cable slicing it in half. The monster roared defiantly, insulted that it had allowed someone to harm it.

Screams echoed in behind him, the second demon already decimating the reinforcements. Kalem was alone, right in the middle of two inhuman creatures who didn't give a second thought to abominable slaughter. He had only one choice. Speeding towards the mutation, Kalem spun his blade into his off hand, and stabbed it in the shoulder. It prepared to strike, but by now the Earth's gravity was slowing it down too much. It had not yet adjusted to the limitations of Earth.

Kalem increased the output of the jetpack, increasing the speed they were both descending. When they reached the point of immobility, Kalem ejected from the Ramniel, and watched as the two creatures were swallowed by the sea. Despite his victory, he sighed. Nothing as powerful as those monsters could be defeated just by plunging into the sea, and the pilots surely escaped.

He pulled a microphone from his helmet, and called the transport to pick him up. This was only the beginning.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two – Friends and Enemies are One and the Same**

Shinji struggled to his feet, his pale and incompetent hands holding onto his cracked rib cage. He grimaced, and took a few steps forward onto the beach shore before falling straight on his face. Salt water rolled beside his cheek, with some of it stinging his eyes. He squinted his eyes shut, hoping somehow that the sting would fade away. When it refused to pass away, he tried to lift himself up. His strength faded, and he fell again on the sand.

Shinji sighed out of disappointment, and closed his eyes shut. He puckered his lips, unintentionally kissing the beach. Deciding not to let the salt water stain himself anymore, he dragged himself, relying more on the strength found in the fingers than any muscles in his arm, to the top of a sandy dune that overlooked the shore.

He didn't look back onto the shore, or to his and Asuka's entry plug that was half buried into the beach. He was too busy trying to hold throw up.

Mucus, as well as half-consumed meals, sipped between his fingers, and littered the dune. His head became heavier, and he started to breathe harder. He closed his eyes for several minutes, to try to gain control of calm himself, thinking that it will stop making his stomach turn. When that didn't work, Shinji dragged his weak body to a smooth and flat rock, resting his back against it.

For whatever reason, Shinji grabbed a handful of sand, and allowed the dirt to slip between his fingers. When there was nothing left, he grabbed another handful to continue the process. This cycle continued for several minutes.

Asuka's capsule was off into the distance, the orange pod half buried by both sand and sea. Shinji, as concerned as he would be for the red headed German if she was in danger, didn't lend a finger to pry the entry plug open. Asuka was too tough a nut to crack to be killed by a mere crash into the sea. Besides, if he did open the entry plug, she would just yell at the innocent Shinji, calling him stupid and cursing him in her native tongue. It would be for the best if he just let her be.

He sighed deeply, wiping some sweat off of his brow. He took another deep breath, thinking that would relieve some of the heat. Unfortunately for him, it only made the situation worse.

'_What the hell happened?' _the EVA pilot pondered to himself a few minutes later. _'Why the hell were we in the sky? Why were those…whatever they were, attacking us? They looked like EVAS…a little bit, I mean. They sure as hell looked like a metal monster. But, where am I…we going to go now. I mean, I don't have an idea what's going on, and Asuka sure as hell doesn't, with her being in a coma and all until now…whenever now is!'_

Shinji sighed again, and pounded the earth with his fist in frustration.

"I don't want to kill," he announced out loud. "Not again, not after those screams." He licked his lips, and ripped the head bands that acted as a link between him and his EVA off. "I'm not going to kill anyone ever again, no matter what happens. Even if I have to die…I won't kill."

He heard a light chuckle, and he turned his head to the source. A red eyed Asuka stood there, wiping sweat from her head. She smiled that infamous smile of hers that formed across her face whenever she mocked Shinji in some way. "What's up with you, Third Child?"

Shinji smiled. He could at least trust the German to have an idea of what to do. After all, between the two of them and Rei, Asuka was always the brawn, and sometimes the brains of the trio. Whenever they had to think fast, Asuka was there to conduct some half-crazed scheme. Of course, more times than not, her plans usually created even more problems for the three EVA pilots to get themselves out of.

"Nothing."

"Yeah. Right," she said sarcastically. "Well, it doesn't really matter. We've got to get out of here." She headed up the dune and away from the beach. Shinji didn't follow. "Haul ass, Third Child. We've got to move."

"It's Shinji…" he mumbled.

The German turned her head towards Shinji. "What?"

"It's Shinji. My name is Shinji."

Asuka only sighed. "Come on, _Third Child_." Knowing that it was hopeless to convince Asuka of anything, Shinji followed. He would think that after being so long in a coma, she would at least be grateful to see Shinji. Shinji prayed that she might of have even changed, to be someone he could talk to, someone to know how he was feeling, to help him, and vice versa. But, alas, things didn't turn out as Shinji had hoped. Asuka was still the same insensitive jackass as before.

As he followed the red headed German, he started to wonder if it was too late for someone to change.

* * *

The sea is a dark and foreboding place. As much as it is a place of unrivaled beauty, tranquility and peace of mind, the darkest depths of the water realm holds dark secrets, and even darker tribulations for those that looked for them. 

Uriel squad Uruz-seven had left Boston harbor three hours ago, a sudden and unexpected deployment in the middle of the day. Usually, the clawed submarines were used at night, where they could best do recon work. The order came right in the middle of their rest period, after six days of recon work elsewhere with little rest. However, they took pride in knowing that the task came directly from Lady Hamae, and they all secretly dreamed of the elegant woman praising them in private upon completion of the mission.

The six submarines slip their way through the cracks of the ocean rocks. They were here searching for something…an enemy from the past, the Lady had said in the report. It would be a lie if any of the crew members said that they weren't afraid. It was said that nothing short of an army could of threatened Kalem, nevertheless injure him to the point where sacrificing his Full Metal was his only option. Their large numbers eased themselves somewhat, however.

Suddenly, out of the dark a form slowly became visible. The six Uriels simultaneously flicked don their lights, more by reflexes than by discipline. The purple armor of EVA 01 was in their sights. A few feet off, EVA 02 was also somewhat visible.

A few of the submarines slowly approached the sleeping gods, their captains sweating nervously. They were certain that once they approached the monsters, their ghoulish eyes would glow, and their claws would rip them to shreds in an instant.

The EVAS never woke up.

Finally, one of the Uriels radioed head quarters. They found them.

* * *

A week later, at seven AM, Norwood High School was the same as it always has been: a stream of student drivers transporting themselves and their friends, buses dropping students off at sidewalks, and a few prodding pedestrians regretfully walking to the thirty plus year old building.

The High School, despite its appearance of a government building, never did hold a student body larger than five hundred. For as long as anyone in Norwood could remember, whenever a family would move out of the suburb another family would be quick to take their place. Despite being a mere half hour drive from Boston, Norwood never did become a large town; impressive, yes, but never large.

Despite its small size, Norwood was a town that took a sense of pride in its appearance. The roads were certainly better paved than most of the surrounding towns. The sidewalks were rarely, if ever, littered. Even in the Fall the trees acted just as much as glorified décor as things of nature. The buildings and houses were never too close together, but they were barely too far off.

The grumbling of a many high school students could be heard among the morning drama. Some complained of sore backs, but most were just mad that they had to wake up before eight just to go to a place they could care less about. All of them being juvenile complaints, and nothing more.

Amongst the group of students were two exchange students from Neo-Japan. Of course, no one initially recognized them when they entered the halls: after all, it's not exactly easy to distinguish new students from the existing five hundred.

The students of Norwood High were introduced to the students at first period, in Mister Murphy's Algebra-II class. The Math teacher certainly looked like his class: with his long, but somewhat muscular body, wrinkled face and rimmed glasses. His voice was deep but sturdy, and all of those who were in his class were quick to tell you that the first time you heard him you get a sort of fuzzy feeling under your skin, like you were talking to somebody who was worth talking to.

He was also a man whose first self-imposed assignment was to carve into his mind all of his student's names and faces. So, when he saw two new faces entering his classroom that November morning he had a few guesses as to why they were here. He approached the thin, but good intending looking lad and his fiery haired companion with a slight smile on his face.

"Morning to you both," he said in his deep voice. The two looked at him for a split second before doing the customary bow. He waved his hands in protest. "No need for that. You two are from Japan, right?"

"Y-yes sir," the boy said somewhat nervously.

"Well, take your seat. We have two spares in the back. You can have those if you want, or if you can convince someone to trade spaces with you, I won't mind taking your pick. Well, I'm Mr. Murphy. Can I see your schedules to make sure you're in the right class?" They handed it over to him. "I won't tell you how many times on the first day I get students who don't belong in my class. They must love Math so much," he noted to himself as he read their schedules. He turned to face the boy. "Shinji…Yamamoto? Did I say it right?"

"Y-yes, Murphy-san."

He smiled warmly. "I told you, my name does not have to san in it, or at least the last time I checked. Just Mr. Murphy will do." He turned to face the female. "Asuka Kazade?"

"It's KAZ-A-DUE, actually. Close enough, though, I guess."

"Well, don't you fret young lady, I'll get it done by tomorrow, I assure. Now, when the bell rings, go introduce yourselves to the class, won't you?" They shrugged in agreement. Despite their differences in both name and appearance, the old Mathematics teacher couldn't help but think that they were related somehow. He shrugged it off as him just getting too old.

Suddenly, the bell rang. He coughed, signaling them on his own terms to stick to the plan. The two exchange students walked to the front of the class. Half of the class was still in the morning ruckus as it were, and Mr. Murphy took it upon himself to settle them down. In a few moments, the class was in their place, facing the two new students. Shinji was obviously sweating nervously, and his fellow classmates noticed this, and a few whispers concerning the 'new guy' were somewhat hearable.

"Okay, settle down, all of you," the Math instructor demanded of his students. They did as were instructed of them, knowing full well how the old man could get when caught in a temper. He nodded to Shinji and Asuka. "Introduce yourselves, please."

Asuka nudged Shinji. He coughed nervously. "Well, uh, um, I'm Shinji Yamamoto. I come from Neo-Japan, as an, err, um, exchange student." He quickly backed off, allowing the red haired German to take his place.

"Well, my name's Asuka Kazadu. I'm from Neo-Japan too, for the same reason as this idiot behind me." She smirked with obvious sarcasm. Mr. Murphy rolled his eyes.

"Any questions for our new classmates?" he asked the class. A few raised their hands. He randomly picked one from amongst the crowds.

"Are you two dating?" a man wearing a football jacket asked.

"HELL NO!" the two said simultaneously. A few noticed them blushing.

Mr. Murphy coughed, obviously ignoring the language his newest students have just exploited. "Yes, well, are there any other questions?" Another hand rose.

No other hands rose, so Mr. Murphy proceeded to begin the class. He instructed the two to take their seats, and joked successfully to those in the back to make sure the two didn't flirt.

And thus began Shinji's and Asuka's first day in an American school, and moreover, their first day trying to figure out what was going on in the world.

It was around lunch time when the two managed to dig up some information. Instead of eating, they silently decided to head for the Computer Lab. All that was required of them was to sign on a sheet of paper their name, class and lunch number before they were given access to the thirty something computers.

Five minutes into their investigation, Asuka ushered Shinji over. "Hey…Third Child…over here," she whispered a few seats down. "Take a look at this."

'SEELE reported yesterday days ago that the cause of Colonel Kalam's ahead of schedule return to Earth was not four meteors that penetrated the atmosphere as predicted, but a malfunction in his transport.'

"_Four_ meteors?", he whispered.

"Us dumbshit."

"I know that! But…what are they trying to hide?"

"And what's up with SEELE? Weren't they the ones who funded NERV…and us?"

"Yeah, but why are they trying to hide us in the first place. Hell, why were we in space at all?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be on a ten year old computer searching the internet looking for answers! Jeez Third Child!" Shinji just moaned.

For the rest of their half hour rest block, the two didn't find anything in their investigation. It was obvious to the two, who were from the inside, as it were, that SEELE was hiding something. Their were indications that NERV was now a offensive organization instead of a defensive one, but mostly just rumors. On top of that, there was no mentioning of the UN in any articles for the past two years.

Even Asuka was starting to get worried.

* * *

The bell rang at two thirty, signaling the end of the school day. Most of the buses were lined up, but Asuka and Shinji just walked home. Their apartment, which was a mere twenty minute walk from the school, was funded by two forged exchange student cards that Shinji made after seeing a copy of one off of a young boy on the streets. Asuka was still somewhat amazed that Shinji was so good at making a fake ID that looked legit, although she'd be damned if Shinji ever found out she appreciated something he did for her.

Shinji yawned lazily when they entered the apartment, unwillingly dropping his backpack to the floor. Asuka followed suit, dropping almost dead on the wooden floor. The apartment, excluding the two bedrooms and one bathroom, was simply furnished with just the essentials: a cough, a few beds, some cabinets and a somewhat dated television. They were fortunate that the owner of the complex didn't recognize some of the flaws in Shinji's fake IDs; they were also lucky to get the one spare apartment meant for exchange students.

"Man, today sucked", Shinji groaned as he dragged himself towards a counter to rest his heavy head on. "I didn't understand anything on paper."

Asuka mumbled something unintelligible. Shinji didn't ask what it was.

"Not to mention that I think that girl in Spanish class was looking at me in ways nobody should be looked at…"

"Oh stop your complaining!" Asuka ordered as she got up. "At least your ass didn't get slapped in the hallways between periods."

"You're kidding me," Shinji said in a tone that showed he wasn't surprised at all. Back in Tokyo-3, the boys sold explicit photos of Asuka for a fair amount of yen, and he wasn't surprised one bit that the Americans were already hitting on her.

"Don't you start with me, Third Child! Gawd!" She pulled on her hair frustration. "And I bet that jockey was hitting on me in Math class…why do we have to go to school anyways? Me in particular! I went to college!"

"We've got to fit in!"

"Yeah, a gorgeous German and a Japanese nerd who can't even read English fits in _just _fine."

"You're one to talk! You couldn't even read Japanese."

"Aw, shut your face Third Child. When's dinner? I'm starving!"

"We don't have any food. We've got no money."

"WHAT! You expect me to do both of our homework's on an empty stomach?"

"Who said you had to do mine?"

"You can't read English, so I have to for you!"

"Like that would help me," he mumbled.

"So what do you want me to do? Teach you to read English?"

"Now, _that_ would help."

"In your dreams, pervert. Wait; don't even think about it in your dreams. I bet you have all types of fantasies when you snooze off, now don't you?"

"At least _I_ wasn't attracted to somebody who was in his thirties!"

He got punched in the face for the effort. When he came to, Asuka was already slamming her bedroom door shut.

Shinji rose to his feet, his hand rubbing at the bruise Asuka left on his forehead. He sighed depressingly. As much as he wanted to apologize to Asuka, he knew that it wouldn't be of any use. She would just criticize him for apologizing.

It was times like this that made him wonder why the hell any guy would want to get involved with women. Suddenly, a mental image of Kaji popped into his head. He was like an older brother to the young EVA pilot…somebody he could turn to when he had troubles that only guys would get into it. Yes, he was more or less an idiot, but he actually knew things. And more importantly, he was kind.

He remembered something Kaji told him concerning women. 'Shinji, if there's one thing we guys have to learn, it's that we can't live with those adorable babes, and we sure as hell can't live without them. As much of a pain in the ass they are, no matter how much we can't stand them, we guys need women, and they need us.'

Shinji sighed, and walked towards the cough, when he then proceeded to drop head first on. He groaned aggressively.

He also remembered that he hated it whenever Kaji was right about women.

A half hour later, a starving Asuka exited from her bedroom. The first thing her eyes laid upon was the motionless body of Shinji Ikari. "What you thinking about now, Third Child?"

"Who says I am?" he mumbled through the soft exterior of the couch.

"Because whenever you shut that big mouth of yours, you're thinking about something. So spit it out, before I make you."

Shinji lazily flipped over. "I was thinking about Kaji." He paused for effect. "About something he said."

"That being?"

"How even though women are a pain, we guys can't live with you."

The red haired German placed her hands on her hips. "Pervert," she smiled mischievously as she went back in her room.

Shinji stretched his arms lazily. He was beginning to understand what Kaji meant. He yawned sleepily before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three – Through the battlefield **

In the country of Toujimae, a dark and bloody civil war rocked the populous. It was a horrible spot on the nation's already stained history, the historic tomes recording hundreds of bloodthirsty and selfish rulers and self proclaiming dictators who used civil wars much like this one to expand their own powers.

At the central spotlight of this particular conflict was Sergio Cortez, a man in his late fifties with frizzled black hair, and a graying moustache. His opponents, although scapegoats would prove a far more accurate description, were refugees who were pouring into his country for who knows what reason. He could care less. This war was a way to expand his influences, particularly to SEELE, who granted their blessing on the conflict and promised they would not interfere.

He rode in a beat down Hummer, and a huge number of attack jeeps were surrounding him, ensuring he would survive this day. However, if by some odd day in hell that the refugees managed to destroy those, three Ramniel class Full Metals were practically on top of him. If anything could save him from an assassin's bullet, it would be those demons.

They turned a corner onto the main street. An interesting image caught his eye: a beaten down church, were hundreds of wounded refugees laid. Women and children attended to their wounds, and the occasional elder could be seen among them.

They were totally helpless against any sort of attack.

Sergio Cortez smiled. Perfect.

He climbed onto the hood of the Hummer, and raised his hand to halt the advance. A multitude of whispers and gasps were easily heard. Cortez pulled out his pistol. A feeble man donning priest's clothing approached the dictator.

"Please! You must not do this! This war must end!"

Cortez licked his lips. "It will end when all of you good for nothing refugees are out of my country!"

"Please sir! We just want a place to live!"

"Shut your useless mouth old man!" He raised his gun.

The priest gasped. "God will never forgive —"

He never finished the sentence. A bullet ripped through the pacifist's head.

"Where is your God now?" the murderer smirked villainously. He raised his free hand, preparing to drop it, signaling a slaughter.

Some of the women shivered with fear, bundling their children close to them. Some began to cry. A few old man, got on their knees and began to pray.

The signal was set: two of the Ramniels raised their gun and were about to pull the trigger. That is, until they were ripped to pieces by a hidden enemy. They exploded in a blazing inferno, with burning metal spraying everywhere.

Cortez gasped at the sight. "What the hell…!"

A Uriel, not painted with the tanned paintjob of Cortez's forces, but rather, sporting the obsidian colored metal of NERV, appeared mid air, its front already exposed to the ground. It flipped onto its feet. It raised its one eye towards the remaining foe, and rolled out of the way as inaccurate shots were fired its way. By the time it got to its feet, the dictator's remaining Full Metal was already scrap metal.

"Retreat!" the half crazed Dictator swore. His entire battalion sped off without a complaint, none of his militia wishing to face the demon god that was the Uriel. When the last of the militia sped off, the Uriel turned to see that four of its companions had come to join it, all sporting the black paint job as him.

At the front of this pack was Colonel Kalem. "Good to see you haven't lost your touch Jonathon."

The younger Full Metal pilot nodded, his weapon copying the friendly motion. "VR does tend to help keep me in shape, sir."

The Colonel sighed, still disappointed that his son refers to his 'official' name even on the battlefield. Then again, should he really be surprised about his son's behavior? "Well, the helicopters should be here any minutes…" And almost as if on cue, six NERV helicopters turned off their camouflage, lowering themselves to the ground.

One of the Uriels faced the crowd. "Everyone, get in! We will transport you to a safe location!" Without hesitating, the crowd practically leaped onto the helicopters, although a few were kind enough to carry the murdered priest's body onto a helicopter with care.

A random collection of radio chatter could be heard from the helicopters and the Uriels as they prepared for the safe evacuation of the refugees.

However, a certain Dictator was not out of the picture yet. He slammed hard on the dashboard of his Hummer. "Damn them!" he cursed.

"Where did they come from?" his driver asked.

"NERV…"

"NERV?" the militia fighter arched his eyebrows, never hearing of either NERV or SEELE before Sergio Cortez came into power.

"SEELE's military dogs." He scowled. "I should of have known this was going to happen when ADVENT came into the picture." He sighed. "No matter! Those refugees won't escape. We'll launch the AAs!" He pulled out a walkie-talkie out of the side of the door, and talked into it, sending his orders to those who needed to hear it. The listener on the other side acknowledged the orders, and Cortez hung up. He smiled grimly.

A helicopter number Wyrd 43-6 hovered over the town hall, scouting for any signs of the guerilla fighters. It reported none: almost the entirety of Cortez's forces disappeared, as if they evaporated. It was possible that they had hidden themselves in some underground tunnels, which were common practice by guerilla fighters in Asia, but the pilot had his doubts about that theory. Regardless, he reported in to his superior. "Lady Hamae?"

In head quarters, the elegant lady twirled hair around her finger. "Yes, Wyrd forty three-six?"

"There is no sign of the Cortez's guerrilla fighters—". Suddenly, over the intercom, they heard the booming sounds of a missile slamming into the copter, obliterating it.

The lady was unmoved. "Status?"

"It was an anti-air missile, ma'am," a voice responded. "It was not detected on the radar, so it's likely it was cloaked." Hamae sighed, and ordered that a comm. link be established with the Colonel.

"Colonel. The dictator in question has heat seeking anti-air missiles that are also likely to be cloaked. The helicopters must not be let off the ground."

The Colonel's sigh could be heard. "So, they mean to surround us then? To keep the helicopters in one place…"

"And squash you like ants."

"Affirmative, ma'am. I'll send one of my Uriels to deal with the AA battery."

"See that you do." With that, she waved her hand, and the comm. link was cut.

On the battlefield, Kalem's Uriel turned to his squad. "Who will volunteer?"

His son's Full Metal approached his father. "I will. Do we have any coordinates?"

"Judging from where Wyrd 43-6 was shot down, as well as the direction of the explosion…" he paused for a moment, allowing the computer on his Full Metal to finish all of the technical data, "33.6 North!"

"Understood!" With that, Jonathon Kalem's Full Metal leaped over a building, heading for the target. His father, on the other hand, wasted no time as he prepared to move the helicopters to a more appropriate position: none at all. They would keep on moving, low enough to keep out of the range of the missiles but high enough that they could move and not waste any fuel. In laments terms, they were hovering barely a few feet above the road.

One of Cortez's random soldiers gazed in fear at the hills. For the past fifteen minutes he and others at the post, which was nothing more than a worn down warehouse, had been hearing the screams of other posts that went down one by one. It was like some horrible phantom was consuming their souls. He swallowed, and stared at a pitcher full of water. The earth was thundering, and the glass was vibrating. The soldier blinked repeatedly, hoping that with each blink the thundering would stop.

It never did.

He licked his lips as the thundering become more frequent, and by the time the pitcher rumbled every second the peasant soldier felt his heart was going to be torn from his chest.

Suddenly, he heard a yell. He stared up, only to see the sprinting form of Jonathon's Uriel. That was the last thing he saw, before he and his comrades were engulfed in a fiery explosion.

The pilot licked his lips. Sweat slipped their way down his forehead, but he just ignored the annoyance. A soldier learns not to be distracted on the field of battle, especially when out numbered. The fact that he was out numbered by ants made little difference to him. Cockiness was a weakness that could prove to be easily exploited by even the most reckless of soldiers.

The Uriel sprinted over the hill. The AA missile battery was easily seen. Only a few soldiers were guarding it.

As much as he hated to say it, it was too easy of a target. There weren't even any tanks to handle any possible armored opponents. It was clear to see that Cortez did not anticipate the Refugees to have any sort of armored weapons.

It was also clear to see that Cortez was a foolish man.

The rifle fired off a series of rounds. The battery exploded into a blazing fireball, taking the soldiers that were stupid enough to stand near it along with it.

The image of his father appeared on a smaller screen in Jonathon's cockpit. "Jonathon, the radar shows no sign that AA launcher. I hope it isn't an error," he said with a smile, not doubting his son's expertise.

"Affirmative sir." Jonathon smiled back. He knew how much his father was irritated by the formality, even though it was on the battlefields.

"Hold your position, son. A carrier is coming to bring us home. The Lady said we are done here."

Home. The word had such sweetness to it. Jonathon closed his eyes and allowed his mind to be overwhelmed by it.

He was going home.

* * *

A week later, another helicopter loomed over the ruins of the city. It was, however, not owned by either NERV or SEELE. The leaf symbol of Sephiroth was not branded onto the copter, nor were the six eyes of SEELE. Rather, the words ADVENT was painted across it in a very blunt manner.

A man in his early forties was on the copter. He was bald, minus the hair went down from his sides. His double chin was large and nearly impossible to notice, and he wore a pair of glasses that made him appear intelligent. He was looking at the destruction below through a pair of binoculars. He was leaning over the helicopter carelessly, and surely I fallen over if his assistants were not using their own weight to anchor him down.

"Oh look! Look, look, look! At precisely, I must surely guess at precisely 14.05..7.05.69 point blah blah blah hours, we seemed to have an intruder in our mist! Oh yes, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about it! There's no possible way around it! NERV must of have come! Oh the bastards _always_ ruin our fun!" He frowned a moment, before he continued to scan the carnage. "Oh, what's this? A helicopter crashed! The cause, what was it? I must know! I must, oh yes, I must! Uh, uh, uh…ah, very interesting, he used our missiles! Hmmm…a little anxious are we? That will not do at all, not at all. Ah well…hmm, let me see here…ah! Egads!"

"Sir egads is not a word. I think you mean egad."

"Quiet you fool!" With that, he pushed the intruder off of the helicopter into the lake. "Now, what on earth did he do that for?" The man shrugged. "Ah well…now, where was I? Ah yes, now I remember, yes I do! I was just about to comment about how our puppet was too much of an idiot to not put up detectors for cloaked enemies! The fool! The bumbling fool! He probably trips over his own shoe laces! He must! There's no way about it, not at all!" He looked down to one of his assistants who were holding him down. "Don't you see?"

"I do not sir."

"Then you are an idiot! NERV used cloaking devices to jump right on top of the poor fool's battalion. And we lost all of our Full Metals we lent him! Curses!" He sniffled a bit before continuing with his commentary. "Oh, a Uriel separates from the group! Why? Oh, must be after the missiles. Ah, I see. Making sense it all is, yes it does. Anyhoe, there he goes! He's off! Oh he is so off I can hardly believe he is this off of the offity on ground! Do you see what I mean?"

"No, sir."

"Shut yo' mouth, who asked you anyways? Oh, oh, oh, ah! There he goes! He found the missiles! And blast it all, he blasted it to blasting blasted smithereens! Aw, those NERV always have to ruin my fun. Why, oh why oh why!" He shrugged. "Ah well. Bring me to Cortez! I'm going to kick his ass! And where are those twins? Get me them too!"

* * *

The apartment was dark, and cold. Its filth attracted hordes of vermin: spiders and rats sprinted across the cracked wooden floor. Mold seeped through the cracks on the wall. Even the shower heads brought forth a huge variety of stomach turning smells whenever it was turned on.

Two naked forms were on the form; both of them were Japanese, and twins. One of them, a male, scrapped soap against the wet back of his sister. He would fling her long, seductive hair of the way when he needed to. His sister breathed slow breaths.

"Father will contact us soon, won't he, Souske?"

He nodded. "Of course he will, Kanomai. Until he does, we have to follow Christopher-Ryan."

She spat in disgust. "I hate that man. He's disgusting." She shuddered.

Souske massaged his sister's shoulders, calming her. "Don't worry. We'll make it through this." Believing him, Kanomai nodded. All of a sudden, a phone rang. Souske stood up, and answered it. Just as quickly as he answered, he hung up. He turned to his sister. "He wants us." She nodded, and reached for her clothes. Souske did the same.

* * *

Cortez was sweating uncontrollably, although the ninety degree weather was hardly the cause of it. He licked his dried lips uncontrollably, and his hands were shaking as if he was going to have a heart attack (although he did wish that it would occur right here and now). The dictator was pacing back and forth in his tent in a nervous and repetitive manner, his hands clenching and unclenching rhythmically.

'_He's going to kill me! Fredicoh is going to kill me! There's no way around it…he is gonna have my head! My head! I'm a dead man...'_

Cortez had already made preparations for such an event: a small ambush. After all, it was doubtful that ADVENT would send any more than fifteen soldiers to clean up the mess. It just wasn't in their style. Have the low men like Cortez do all the dirty work on the experimenting of their weapons, and sell the finished results to the highest bidder, whoever that would be.

No matter how good he tried, there could be no way he would survive this day. By the end, he and all of his men will be dead men. But, maybe he could take a few of ADVENT's men along with him…maybe even the crazed Fredicoh himself.

The dictator's nervous pacing was interrupted when one of his men entered the tent.

"Sir, he's here." Cortez rushed out from his tent, his lackies following him. The helicopter landed onto the plain with relative ease.

They saw the frown Fredicoh had. They saw the straight faces of two dark eyed teenagers standing by them.

They never saw the maniacal smile he was beaming just moments before, when they were still in the air.

Fredicoh was insane, and he was probably a bastard, but he survived by not being an idiot. He could tell a trap when he saw one. It was obvious by Cortez's confident smile and his nervous sweat stricken face that he had a trap set in store for ADVENT's soldiers. Fredicoh turned to the pilot and drew his hand across his neck. The helicopter blades began to slow, and the ADVENT leader nimbly hopped down from the helicopter.

Fredicoh stretched and yawned. "Oh Cortez, I am so sorry, but you have, oh how should I put it?" He paused for a moment, his fingers tapping his double chin in a suggestive manner. "Bah, forget the formatives! You failed us, not that we were really expecting you to do anything good anyhow."

"Failed? _FAILED?_ You failed _US!_" Cortez was raging. "You son of a bitch! You _KNEW_! You knew that would happen! If anything, it's _YOUR_ fault!"

"Aw, thank you Cortez! I'm glad I'm not the only one. But, really now, you have to die. Bye bye!", he waved with a wide smile. Suddenly, from the behind the rolling hills several sharpshooters began to fire upon Cortez's men, including those that were originally supposed to do the sharp shooting. Christopher-Ryan turned to the two teenage assassins by his side. "Get to it." With that, the Miyamotos leaped into the fray, their assassin blades drawn. The two murderers created a beautiful dance of blood and death; with every movement, with every precise slice of their swords, they created something that was as lustful as it was monstrous. Blood sprayed from the wounds of the dead, onto their faces. But at the gruesome sight, the two never flinched nor were they deterred from the dance of death.

And all the while, the man of ADVENT sang a beautiful song, his hands lifted up to the heavens as if he was singing to God himself.

When it was all done, which took less than thirty seconds, the man pouted. He wanted it to last longer. It was so fun to see the killing twins as work.

"Ah well, that's that."

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He reached into his red coat. "YEAH, what do ya want! Oh, okay, that works for me. Adios, see ya, smell ya later alligator, and all that jazz! Love ya, bye!" He rushed over to the twins, who were wiping the blood off of their faces like someone would a squished bug. "Hey kids! What do you feel about going to BOSTON?"

They arched their eyebrows, but offered no other form of complaints.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four – The Shadow hides those that wait to strike**

With a groin, Shinji Ikari rolled off of the couch, mumbling something under his breath. He licked his lips in an odd sign of aggravation as he used his arms to rise himself up. Dressed only in boxer shorts and a white t-shirt, he rubbed his stomach lazily as he walked across the room to the kitchen. He yawned again before he looked at the digital clock that was situated in the stove.

5 : 35 PM

Shinji shook his head like a wet dog in an attempt to get every last bitof sleep out of his eyes. It worked, and he yawned lazily, his arms stretching, in order to get those last portions of laziness out of his system,

"What are you doing baka?" a pajama wearing Asuka demanded from across the room, irritated that Ikari's post-afternoon nap routine was interrupting her watching television, although it would be far more accurate to say she was merely just channel surfing.

"Yawning," he said plainly. "Ugh…uh, where are my clothes?"

"In the laundry basket, where else would it be? By the way," she noted as she flipped over onto her back, "you owe me money for the laundry!"

"I told you, I spent it at lunch! I didn't have anything for three days!"

"Yeah, well, because of you I spent twenty bucks – ten more than I shouldn't have!"

"Well, where the hell am I supposed to get twenty dollars, when it takes me forever to steal three?"

"Hell if I know! You _are_ the one that forged those fake exchange student IDs so that we can get this apartment for free, so I am sure you can think of something."

"My gawd!", he groaned, rolling his eyes, "what did I get myself into?"

"You? What about me? I'm the one that has been teaching you English for the past month, not to mention that I have to deal with every other Yankee looking at my ass and boobs!"

Shinji raised his eyebrow. "Then maybe you should put on more clothes beyond t-shirt and shorts, hmm?"

"I would if we had more money!"

"And I would gladly give you some more money," a slightly smiling Shinji noted with a hint of sarcasm, "if all the restraunts and other places for jobs weren't filled."

"Oh, this is _just_ perfect." Shinji heard her moan from across the room.

* * *

Jessica Kalem was very surprised with what her husband had in store for her. A few days after coming home from his latest tour of duty, Jonathon treated her to a fancy, four star, and _very_ expensive restraunt that had absolutely the best steak that one could ask for. Jessica, being a cook herself, tried throughout their lengthy stay to find out exactly how they managed to get that delicate piece of meat to just melt in her mouth. And much to her displeasure, she never did uncover the secret, nor would the manager reveal the mystery when asked.

Afterwards, they returned to Jonathon's father's mansion, which also so happened to be theirs as well, and they watched a romantic movie that Jessica had been wanting to see for some time. As soon as the credits began to roll, Jonathon began to massage her back with such detail that the woman felt that she was in a spa.

Of course, with her golden blonde hair, sea blue eyes, and skin that seemed to radiate beauty, Jonathon felt that he was in heaven. So, it was a welcomed example of equivalent exchange.

"So," the blonde beauty eventually began, placing her tender hand on her lover's hand, "how does it feel to be back?"

"Unbelievable," he said softly as he pecked her neck with kisses.

"If only because you're father is the Lightning Hawk, right?"

"Hush, no need for talk like that. Just stay still for me…"

The soldier's love breathed in deeply. She turned her head upward towards the face of the man she loved. "Its good to have you back John."

"It's good to _be_ back."

* * *

Shinji hummed softly Canon D-Dur quartet as he rested on his desk. It was study hall, and even though he had unfinished homework due next period for history class, he wasn't awake enough to even take it out of his book bag, forget about actually doing some work. Asuka was up until midnight watching her sitcoms, and considering where the television was just a mere slab of thin concrete away from his head and bedroom, it was near impossible to actually get some sleep. In the end Shinji joined the German, despite her protest. She eventually got over it by the next punch line. Shinji even laughed a little. He never liked comedies that much – he was more into drama and adventure stories.

Right now though, Shinji could care less as to why he was up so late last night. Sleeping right now was impossible, with the school's rule of no sleeping during breaks except lunch imposing over him like a vulture over a corpse.

Shinji yawned again as he scanned the rest of the room in an attempt to get his body awake somehow. It bore some fruit for his labor: his right eye was now not as tired as his left, although both were both about to close the lid.

Suddenly, his once exhausted eyes caught a site: he saw a face that he did not recognize. In the two weeks that he and Asuka were at the New England high school, the boy had nearly memorized into his head the face and names of every fellow student in all of his classes, if for no better reason than to pass the time between his almost infinite amount of chores, homework, finding info on just what the hell happened in the two years the two were floating in space, and Asuka's occasional tantrums.

And surprisingly enough, there was a great deal of it for the Third Child.

Suddenly, the stranger turned his head towards Shinji's exhausted face. Seeing that the teacher – who at the moment was too busy grading some papers to give any heed to what the boy was up to – he picked up his notebook paper and took a seat next to the tired Shinji.

"Okishimwae?" the boy said.

Shinji perked up his head. "You know Japanese?"

He nodded. "I come from Japan. My twin sister and I, we're exchange students."

"Ah, same here! Except my, err, room mate is not my sister, and I'm glad for that!" Shinji chuckled a little. "Then again, we argue so much you'd think we were."

"I see what you're saying. Girls can be such a pain in the ass, y'know?" Shinji nodded in agreement. "So, err, this sounds really odd, but, what's name?'

"Shinji. Shinji Yamamoto."

"No relation to that famous Samurai by any chance?"

Shinji chuckled. "Hell no."

"Well, my name is Souske Miyamoto." He cracked his knuckles, probably to get the numbness out of them from all of his note taking, and opened his notebook to the inside cover. A schedule was glued to it. He handed it to Shinji. "Got any classes? Same as mine, I mean."

"Uh…" he slurred as he strayed his finger down the line. "Just fifth period…gym."

"My god, I hate gym!"

Shinji handed the notebook to his new acquaintance. "Same here. I'd rather play the cello than do the mile."

"You play the cello?"

"Yeah, I learned way back, well, I, mean I started way back, in like, what second, or third grade? I can't remember which."

"I'm kind of good with the guitar. Still on my way, though."

Shinji raised his eyebrows. "You don't look like the rocker type."

Souske laughed. "It's because I'm not!"

And so, the two found themselves entwined in a conversation that neither could of gotten themselves out of, even if they wanted to, until the period bell rang. They said their goodbyes as they packed their things, and promised to talk again in gym class, just a few hours away.

* * *

At two forty, Shinji was sitting on the front steps of the school, his gym clothes stuffed into his bag. He was sweating horribly. The coach must of thought it would 'fun' to have the class run the mile in just forty five minutes, and then play tackle football for the remainder of class. Needless to say, Shinji did not agree with the coach's opinion on entertainment, if for no better reason than after that pig pile that consisted of half the class, he would be aching for a week, if not more.

Shinji looked at his watch. Asuka was usually at the entrance by two thirty five. Ikari was by no means a worry wart, and was willing to let the great Asuka Langley Shoryu spend as much time as she wants walking to the entrance. Last time Shinji told her to move faster, he couldn't fell his balls for a week.

The door swung open. Hoping it was Asuka, Shinji turned. Instead of the red head, he found Souske, still clothed in his gym clothes. "'Sup," he said in a sarcastic gesture. Seeing Shinji giving him a confused, he decided to sit next to him. "So, what are you still doing here Shinji-kun?"

"Asuka," he groaned.

"Ah, the boss maiden of your fine apartment home I see. Well, I'm waiting for my sis too. We said we were gonna meet here ten minutes ago, but she's running late. Which is a miracle in itself! Y'see, my sister, she's _never_ late. I'm starting to wonder if terrorists have made her their hostage or something."

Shinji smiled slightly. "If she is anything like Asuka, it will be the other way around."

"Damn straight!" came a familiar cry. The two startled teens turned their heads to see Asuka and Kanomai towering over them. "I see you have meet Souske."

"And", Souske observed, "I see you have met my sister." Intrigued by the situation, Souske grinned. "I just love how everything turns full circle."

"Anyways," Kanomai interrupted, "we're going to their place."

"Says so?" Souske asked, not exactly expecting the turn of events.

"Says me," she declared quite cheerfully.

With that, Souske got up to stare at his twin sister. "And I have to listen to you _why_?"

Kanomai smiled, quite proud of her response, which is the one response that no sane man in his right state of mind ever wants to hear from the current woman of the household: "Because if you do, I'm not making dinner."

As soon as she said that, Souske agreed on the spot.

* * *

The office of Keel Lorenz, the supreme master of SEELE, and coincidently, the world, was as dark as it had ever been. The symbol of SEELE, the six eyes of Lilith, shone at the ceiling. His gloved hands were folded below his chin in both a frightening and commanding manner.

"Come in," he commanded and the mischievous form of Christopher-Ryan Fredicoh entered the darkness.

"The twins have found the second and third child."

"An interesting development."

"Want them to start splitting some heads? Somewhat? Not at all?"

"Not at all will do. We need Master Ikari and Miss Langley Shoryu. The Human Instrumentality Project may just come to fruition. We merely just need the Lance and everything that began with the invasion of the old NERV will fall into place."

"Whatever ya say, boss-man."

"And speaking of twins, where did you acquire them? Granted, our corporations trust does not involve investigation, but I cannot help but curious as to how you acquired such valuable assets."

"Heh heh, why, they just came to me, they did!"

Keel raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Out of the blue?"

Fredicoh licked his lips. "Out of the blue and into puddles of blood from my guards!"

Keel rubbed his hands in satisfaction. "A fitting assassin's introduction if there ever was one." He sighed as he turned his chair to face the representative of ADVENT. "I take it that they are acting 'normal' in their current setting?"

"As friendly as Helen of Troy with her ass on fire!"

"Yes, I suppose so. Well, make sure that they do not make Ikari and Shoryu suspect their true intention. They need to act like actual High School students, although I am fairly certain they are aware of the situation."

"Sure thing, boss man. Well, I must be off! So adios amigos!" With that, the holographic image of the madman vanished.

"It is all coming together."

* * *

"Nothing like good old fashioned American Pizza, now is there Shinji?" a mischievously smiling Asuka asked the quiet teen. The Miyamoto twins were invited for dinner, and Asuka and Shinji had used every stray penny, dime and quarter in their apartment to help pay for the pizza.

"I still prefer good old noodles," he solemnly noted as he grabbed another slice.

"You'll never learn," Asuka sighed before turning to face Kanomai. "See what I've got to put up with?"

"He doesn't seem that bad. He's more behaved than Souske, at least."

"Wha?" a startled Souske asked, half a slice of pizza in his mouth. The two girls just giggled. Shinji sighed as a counter measure.

When the twins finally left, it was close to ten. Shinji and Asuka didn't even start work on any of their homework. It would doubtlessly prove simple for Asuka: she was a college graduate, after all. Shinji, on the other hand, would like be up until two in the morning working on his assignments, with half of it being Shinji flipping through his Japanese-English dictionary to translate the letters.

Asuka sighed miserably as Shinji started work on cleaning the table. "Baka!"

Shinji stared at her, confused as to why she was calling him her imposed nickname when he was just doing what he did everyday ever since he first moved in with Misato. "What?"

'_Oh god, I know I am going to regret this! But if I don't, I know Kanomai will be bugging me about it tomorrow.' _"Don't you have homework to do?"

"Yeah, but who's going to do the dishes? You?"

"And why not?"

"Do I even need to say it?"

"That's it, Third Child!"

"Aw crap." With that, the German caught Shinji into a tackle, and when she had a strong enough hold on the squirming teen, practically threw him into his room, his book bag along with him. "I'll handle the dishes! _You_ get those Algebra questions done!"

Rubbing his head, which was the cushion for his book bag, Shinji wondered what he did to piss of Asuka this time. And why did she decide to the chores in his stead? Concluding that it was all thanks to Lady Luck, Shinji unpacked his school work and got to work. Asuka humming some tune as she worked on the dishes could be heard in the background.

A few rooms over, the Miyamoto twins were conversing amongst themselves, regarding their new allies, and consequently, targets.

"Without a doubt they are Ikari and Shoryu."

Kanomai sighed. "And yet, somehow, they are oblivious to our true intent. You would think that they would be more aware of SEELE's hold on the world?"

Souske chuckled softly. "Floating in space for two years will do that to you."

"I suppose," his sister sighed. "When do we kill them?"

"When father or Fredicoh tells us to."

"And, for being our friends, it will be quick, and painless."

"They couldn't ask for better friends," Souske noted.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five – A Time Alone  
**

The image of the Miyamoto twins stood before their employer, Fredicoh. The mad man tapped his chin repeatedly as he considered the news that his most favorite assassins have brought to his ears. "Soooo, you are saying that they are Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Sohryu?"

Souske nodded. "This is no doubt in our minds. They _have _to be them. We can sense too much…" He let the words trail on, for he was lost for words on how to describe their assurance.

"Anxiety", Kanomai finished for her brother. "We can sense they are hiding something. And while we were at their apartment, we found traces of them searching for anything related to NERV, SEELE, and the Evangelions."

"Interesting, yes, very interesting indeed." Fredicoh puckered his lips as he thought about the evidence the assassins had brought him. They had never failed him once before. On all of the missions he had sent them on, wherever it would be assassinations, recon, interrogations or just downright random destruction, Souske and Konami had accomplished them all with overwhelming success. Even though they were dealing with the Second and Third Child, Fredicoh had no reason to believe that the twin assassins were mistaken. "Okie dokie, its time to have some fun! I'll go get the new guy. You two make sure Ikari and Sohryu don't get squashed into a million pieces! Adios!" With that, the images of the twins disappeared, and Fredicoh exited the dark room in a dash.

* * *

Three hours later, a small fleet of cruisers belonging to ARGENT hovered above the skies near the Massachusetts town. In a mere six hours, they would get to the job Fredicoh, and Lorenz, demanded of them. 

Destruction was what the two men had in mind.

And in one of the cruisers, a black Evangelion slept.

* * *

His name was Alexander Kurosawa, and his aim was perfect. It was said among his soldiers that he never missed a shot. Although the man was never one to brag – he was a man of chivalry after all – it was true that he was an expert marksman. He had been teaching himself the art of weaponry even since he was nine years old; training that certainly helped him to become the head of NERV. 

Kurosawa steadied his aim as the image-message of his best friend and second in command, Colonel Kalem, alerted him to SEELE's intent. "This is madness Alex! How in God's name can Lorenz permit something like this?"

"It is quite simple. He has a dream, and he will do anything to accomplish it."

Kalem wasn't convinced. "At the cost of burning a town to the ground?"

Kurosawa did not drop his shoulders even an inch as he perfected his aim. "You have done the same, old friend."

"Not for personal gain!"

"Calm yourself Marcus", Alexander scolded lightly. "Remember, you are their tool. Nothing more."

"That will change soon when the public learns of this."

"The public will never know. Remember, SEELE commands everything."

"We were better off with the angels…"

Alexander nodded in agreement with his friend. "Indeed. The ones that risk our destruction the most are not the invaders…" He paused as he shot his rifle. A pigeon fell of its branch, oblivious that it was his target all along, not the dummies that lined up against the wall. "But the defenders themselves."

* * *

"This is _so_ aggravating." It was seven at night, and a week had passed since the two Children had met Souske and Kanomai. Shinji was watching some meaningless television programs that he could really give a rat's ass for, and Asuka was mumbling some German curses under her breath. 

By the shuffling of papers, Asuka's groans, and her totally ignorance to what Shinji was up to, he concluded she was once again going through love letters.

" 'Will you be mine forever'? How over dramatic…." She tossed a love letter behind her back. She picked up another from the apparently infinite pile. " 'The one I love is you', 'A phoenix on the rising sun', 'You are the light of my soul'," and the list went on. Asuka must of have had announced a few dozen or so horrendously thought out titles. "Well this one takes the cake!" she announced to no one in particular. " 'I am sex compressed in a can' ". She sighed before ripping it to shreds. She turned to Shinji. "Honestly, I thought Americans were more creative than _this_!" He gave no response, as usual. When the Sohryu was dealing with anything that involved romance, Shinji knew full well that it was best to put up a restraining order.

Suddenly, Asuka realized something.

She was bored.

"I'm bored", she announced. In a flash, Shinji turned to face her, his already pale skin as white as bone. He knows all too well what happens whenever the red head gets bored.

It usually involves something that he regrets.

"Hey Shinji, have you ever written a love letter?"

"What?"

"You heard me", she said proudly.

"No."

"Wanna learn how?"

"Um…." Shinji allowed the words to trail off in an attempt to piss Asuka enough that she would get off the subject. It didn't.

Cracking her knuckles, Asuka grabbed Shinji by the arm and rose him up. He was trapped. "Okay, I, the great Asuka Langley Sohryu, am going to teach you how to write the love letter of all letters! But only because you are a spineless idiot who barely deserves my pity! Understood?"

Shinji rolled his eyes and groaned. "Yes…"

She whipped him to the kitchen table, and pushed the pile of love letters off of it. In the same motion she grabbed a pile of paper and a half dozen or so pens and handed it to him. She slammed one paper onto the table and practically thrusted a pen into his hands. "Now," she said in a very dramatic tone, no doubt a result of her 'I am the queen of the world' complex, "in your hands, you have the power to either make the said girl either fall over heels over you, or make her despise you for all of eternity!"

Shinji's nervous gulp could probably be heard all the way to the bottom floor of the apartment. "Now, the first step is to fold it over."

Shinji rolled his eyes. This was insulting to his intelligence (not to say that Asuka thought he had any intelligence to begin with…)! Deciding that ignoring her command for any longer would most likely end in his immediate demise, Shinji folded the paper over.

"Now, you get to write the salutation." They both stared at each other for a few moments, not saying anything at all. Finally, Asuka broke the silence. "Now here, you've got to tell that red head, the most beautiful girl in the whole school with those nice blue eyes and those nice hips that you really do care about her, and aren't just another horny kid who wants to get laid! All in anything less than five words, maybe six if you're lucky. Got it?"

Shinji raised his eyebrow. "I'm supposed to write a love letter to you?"

Asuka blushed. "Wha-what?"

"You described yourself as the person I am supposed to write to."

She never realized that she had done just that. _'Damn, it must be late! I wouldn't make that mistake in a million years if it was the afternoon…' _"Well, it's just a test, you know, so sure, you could, if you _really _have to…"

Shinji just groaned, signaling Asuka to move on with the subject, which she was all too happy to do. "Well, you _do_ know what a salutation is, right?"

"Of course I do! It's all those corny titles you keep on muttering off."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Write something!"

"Yeah, I could write something off of the top of my head, but it would probably be something really corny, you know, with me being spineless and all." The last comment got under Asuka's skin real bad. '_Since when did this kid learn to smack talk?_', she asked herself repeatedly in an attempt to keep herself from smashing his face into a million pieces.

She clapped her hands together to revive her falling spirits. Even though Shinji was being cocky, Asuka knew full well that Shinji was no Casanova. And if there was one person that could make him one, it was going to be her. "All right fine! We'll skip the greeting. Now, if you want to wow a girl, you need to have the right paper. Simple bland white paper won't do at all! Bring out your wallet, and spend an extra couple of dollars on the expensive kind. The one with hearts, bunnies and sparkles are usually good ideas to start. Rose scented gets you extra points."

Shinji nodded in agreement. '_He's actually interested in this romance crap? Not to say I don't like romance, but...' _ "Okay, whatever, back on track here! You've got the romantic greeting, the presentable paper, now we need to get the writing! You get major points if the pen is scented, and you have a date automatically if it's written the old fashioned way."

Shinji raised his eyebrow. "Old…fashioned way?"

Asuka smirked what she called her sexy smirk. She neared her face closer to Shinji's. "Calligraphy."

Shinji's eyes widened. "Oh god…" Shinji knew how hard it was to write calligraphy. He attempted to write a series of letters in that style for art class a few days ago. It took him an hour just to get one letter finished! Granted, it was a letter that spread across half a poster, but that was not exactly the point of the matter.

"Aw come now Shinji, even a bone head like you has to know that we girls appreciate good work ethics!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but…oh, never mind."

Asuka just rolled her eyes before she continued with her lecture. "Once you mastered the art of calligraphy – which I doubt you're going to accomplish anytime soon – you get to move on to the really important part." She paused for dramatic effect. "The body. Now, whatever you do, don't write a message! If you do, even if it is on the most expensive of papers, even if it has calligraphy, no girl will go for a boring message."

Shinji had realized that Asuka had just contradicted herself – moments ago, she was saying that no sane girl would resist calligraphy. "But Asuka –"

"Shut up! I'm talking here! Jeez…" she allowed the words to trail off as she massaged her head in an attempt to relax her nerves. "Now, be grateful that I am teaching you the _true_ secret to love letters! In fact, you should say thank you." She grinned semi-evilly. "Say 'thank you Asuka'."

Shinji rolled his eyes. No girl in his mind was even worth going through this much crap to go out with. Regardless, he came this far, he might as well finish Asuka's perverted sense of torture. "Thank you Asuka…"

"Now, to get a girl to go all gaga over you, you've got to write a poem. Even if you attempt to write a poem, chances are the girl will think that it's cute and if you presented everything else good enough, you pretty much got a date. But, if you actually write a _good_ poem, the girl will be on cloud nine."

Shinji rubbed his chin, a trait that he had unknowingly inherited from his father. "Well," Asuka said, breaking the silence, "since I see that you're so busy, I'll go watch some TV! I'll check up on your oh so romantic love letter writing later!" Before Shinji could even suggest a form of protest, Asuka's seat was now vacant, her form sprawled across the couch and the television was dramatizing some stupid soap opera.

Sometimes, during the commercials, Asuka would glance back at Shinji to see how he was doing. When Shinji was chewing on the middle of the pen, he was deep in thought. The end meant he was onto something, and if he nibbled on his finger nail he was about to write something down.

Asuka could read him like a book.

Eventually, her random glancing back at Shinji bored Asuka. She got up, deciding to take a shower. "I'm taking a shower", she announced. "If you even think about peeking, you're a dead man, understood."

Shinji nodded in recognition as he continued with his work.

Once in the bathroom, Asuka began the ritual of getting ready for the shower. She would always start by unclipping her hairpins, swaying her hair from left to right to determine wherether or not she needed a hair cut.

She concluded that she did.

Then, someone started to knock on the doorknob. "Asuka?"

She did what was natural, and screamed. "The hell! You're wiggling the door knob! Stop trying to peek you pervert!" She ranted on how she was going to kill him if she saw him glancing at her naked body.

Never mind the fact that she didn't even take off her shirt yet.

Shinji blushed from behind the door. "I am not! I just wanted to tell you that I'm done…"

"Well, leave it somewhere! Jesus Shinji, don't you know ladies want privacy in the bathroom?"

"Like you're a lady…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Nothing!"

Asuka undressed and got into the shower as quickly as she could, so that Shinji would not bother her again with another question or remark. She refused to leave the bathroom until she was completely dried and had clothes delivered to the doorstep. When she left the bathroom fully dressed with not a hint of moisture on her form, she found a letter on the table.

'To a Miss Sohryu Asuka Langley'

Asuka rolled her eyes. "He needs work on the title." She could see a great deal of eraser marks around every other letter. Asuka could at least say that he attempted the fancy handwriting. Reluctantly, she opened up the letter.

She took a deep breath, preparing for a disaster.

_If there could be one thing I could be,_

_I would be your tear, _

_So I would be born from your eye,_

_And die at your lips._

_If you'd give me the honor,_

_I would listen to your words,_

_And not allow them to slip by._

_Rather I would cherish them,_

_As golden words from above._

_If I could make one promise,_

_I would promise to cherish you,_

_To be yours until our lives end,_

_So that you would know,_

_That there is a meaning to this world._

Asuka shivered. It wasn't one of fear, or hate, or rage….it was one of complete shock.

'_Shinji wrote this? Spineless Shinji? That baka Shinji? The one who couldn't even ask a girl out to a school dance, wrote this? This letter, a letter that touched me more than all the others I got combined? The person I hate more than anything, for being better at the one thing I am good at, the one thing I am good for in this world, wrote 'this'?'_

Asuka never realized that several tears slipped down her cheek. Mustering up her courage, she slipped the letter into her pocket.

This was one letter she was going to keep for a long time…even if it was from that idiot Shinji.

At that exact moment, Shinji entered the room, his book bag hung over his shoulder. With a grunt, he plopped it down.

"What do you want?" Asuka said in a tone harsher than she felt towards the boy.

"Doing homework, what else?" He yawned before bring out some notebooks.

"Ice cream."

"What?"

"I said I want ice cream."

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it?"

"What else? We are going to get some ice cream!"

"What? But I've got homework…"

"Like I care, Shinji-kun! If I say I want ice cream, we are getting ice cream!" In her attempt to get Shinji out of the house, she never even realized that she called Shinji her friend.

"But Asuka…uh, I mean, you only have your PJs on…"

"So what? I have a sweater I can put on? And so do you! So get dressed! We're going out!"

"What?" But before he could complete his sentence, which would of have been an stammering mess anyways, Asuka pushed Shinji into his room, shaking her fists violently. Shinji knew full well that if he didn't comply, he would have a black eye soon enough.

But he didn't slow his pace.

"Out? We are going…out?"

Behind a closed door, Shinji smiled. And even if she wouldn't admit, so did Asuka.

* * *

Shinji could spend his whole life with the red head German, and he was certain that he would never come to understand her. Even if there were thousands of essays written on her by the greatest of sages, Shinji would still be baffled by her persona. One moment, she was as commanding and overpowering as usual, instructing with her usual raging attitude how to construct a love letter. The next, she was actually being somewhat kind to him, with her suggestion (although demand would be a far better term) on getting some ice cream. Now, she was back to her old self, complaining irritably of how cold it was and why so many people had to be in line at the Ice Cream parlor. 

"This is perfect! We just _had_ to go the day it's packed! Mein Gott!"

"Err, Asuka, it's full of people every day."

Asuka turned to face Shinji and shot him a glare. "Shut up, Third Child."

Shinji just rolled his eyes, and decided to wait out both the line and Asuka's rambling. They reached the shop sooner than he expected.

"Ha!" Asuka declared triumphantly when they were the second to last person. "I knew we would get there eventually!"

"Maybe because everyone else got sick of your complaints…" Shinji murmured under his breath. Asuka just shrugged it off.

The window rolled away, and the person behind the counter asked what the two wanted.

"Just give me the double chocolate, with the cone." The attendant nodded, and waited for Shinji's response. Not knowing that it was actually his turn (he thought that Asuka, with her stomach that could easily be related to a warp hole, was thinking on a second order), Asuka had to elbow him in the stomach.

"Oh, sorry. Err, just get me peanut butter, with the cone as well." With a nod from the cashier, the window closed. A few minutes later, the two ice creams came into sight. The two dropped the money onto the counter, and with their ice creams in hand, they started to walk the empty streets.

As they walked the streets, to where was anyone's guess, Shinji just remained quiet, silently licking his ice cream and in some random instances, watching Asuka eat hers. He didn't really know what to talk about. If he asked how her ice cream was, he was certain she would say something about it being better than his. If he asked if she was cold, she would undoubtedly give him a stare and call him a pervert and claim he was thinking dirty thoughts.

No matter what he would do, she would think of something painful to tell or call him.

That is, until they saw the roses.

It was an odd sight indeed. Now, Shinji was not saying he was used to America, but he was fairly certain that no flowers would be in bloom in the middle of November. But now, he stopped half way through a lick, to stare at a floral shop, where a row of red tipped yellow roses stood.

"Asuka…look."

Even though she gave off a slight pout, Shinji could tell that even she was intrigued by the sight, probably even more so than Shinji since she lived in America for a few years before moving to Germany.

"Who would of thought? Roses, in the heart of November. Instead of being frozen solid…here they are, lying there like they were full of life."

"I guess", she shrugged.

Shinji walked past her, licking his ice cream. Asuka followed him until he stopped at the docks, on the edge of town. Granted, it wasn't a long walk – probably only an extra four or five minutes from the ice cream shop. By now, it was eight at night, and the bright stars could be seen in the night sky.

Shinji sat atop the pier, letting his feet swing slightly. "Did those roses remind you of something?"

"Like what?"

Shinji licked his lips, and licked another layer of his ice cream off. "When the school made us plant flowers in the destroyed districts. You know, that assignment that you pretty much, err, bitched about…"

"Get to the point, Third Child."

"Well, the roses were yellow. The ones we planted, I mean."

"I guess it's weird…" Shinji chuckled a little bit. "What's do damn funny?"

"Something Kaji told me...that roses all have some special meaning. He told me that yellow roses meant friendship or something like that. It's just kind of odd that the two of us always got yellow roses. Not red, white or pink…just yellow. Just yellow."

"I don't get you boys sometimes."

Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you give us a gift that's going to wither and die?"

Shinji shrugged. "Kaji told me it was because sometimes the most beautiful of things are those that do die, because you appreciate them all the more."

Asuka didn't say anything. Neither did Shinji.

Minutes passed, and the two just remained quiet. They didn't really know what to talk about. The previous conversation was too quiet.

Suddenly, Shinji turned towards the sea, letting of an aura of nervousness and fear. "You hear that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Her question was answered in time when a pod splashed into the sea. Countless more followed suit. From the wreckage Full Metals emerged, prepared for war.

"Why?" Shinji asked. Asuka did not answer. There was only the wind of war as his conclusion.


End file.
